Chapter 1 #3
She was obviously being too blunt and transparent.
This was what happened when you were a hermit and went weeks without spending time with real people.
It was getting easier to do so, with even her groceries being delivered.
The only time she left her house was for her early-morning runs, and church and dinner with her parents and brother on Sunday.
This trip was supposed to be about not only researching a new location for book settings, but also forcing herself to get out and meet people, learn to ski, maybe kiss a man.
She glanced at Gavin again. If she asked him to kiss her for research purposes, what would he say?
She hadn’t kissed someone since college.
Four years. Her parents would die if they knew that.
A loud beat echoed from the back seat. “You ready? Let’s go!” Austin started yelling along with the too-loud words: “‘Ten percent luck, twenty percent skill’ …”
Kari swung back to the boy, feeling like a jerk for getting so caught up in Gavin she hadn’t even been looking at, or listening to, his son.
“Austin!” Gavin yelled to be heard over the noise, navigating the sharp corners of the canyon with skill and impressive speed.
“‘Remember the name!’” Austin screeched.
“Austin!”
“Yeah, Gav?” Austin called back.
“Turn it down!” Gavin hollered.
Austin held the button on the phone, finally bringing the words to a manageable level.
“Way too loud, bud,” Gavin admonished him.
“Sorry, bro, but I needed me some pump-up and you two weren’t listening to me anyway.”
“Oh, shoot. I apologize, Austin. I got … distracted.” Kari risked a glance at Gavin, but his lips were pressed tight.
Dang. He really was the closed-off type.
Did she stand any chance of breaking through his walls?
Doubtful. She wasn’t anything like the appealing, brave heroines she wrote about, and so far all she’d done was upset him.
Did he feel any of the incredible warmth and tingles she felt when she touched him?
The way he’d pulled his hand from hers back at the lodge said no.
“It’s okay.” Austin smiled at her, easily forgiving. If only his brother or father or whatever Gavin was to him was more like him. “So you’re going to write about my hockey game when you work tomorrow?”
“For sure. Plus I’m going to learn to ski tomorrow, so I’ll have lots of stuff to fit in books.” She smiled.
“You’ve never skied before?” Austin stared at her like she had two heads.
“No, sir. I’m from Arizona, remember? No snow.”
“I wish I didn’t have school so I could teach you. Gav, can I please, please skip school tomorrow and teach Kari how to ski? I helped Heath teach Hottie Hazel, and that worked out great.”
“Who are Heath and Hottie Hazel?” Kari asked, but she was also wondering why his “brother” made all the decisions about eating dessert at nine o’clock or skipping school.
Was this more evidence for her theory about Gavin’s story, or simply evidence that he was a great guy who was a better brother than she’d ever met?
“My brother and his fiancée,” Gavin explained. “Bud, we talked about this. Please just call her Hazel.”
“But she’s hot,” Austin protested. He winked at Kari. “Not as hot as you, my new girlfriend, but she’s really hot.” He nodded vigorously.
Kari laughed. How could she help it? The little man was so cute, and she loved his lack of boundaries or a filter. It reminded her of herself.
“So I can skip school to teach Kari how to ski,” Austin said as if the deal was done. The song finished, and luckily another one didn’t start.
“No, you cannot,” Gavin said sternly, holding out his hand.
“That sucks.” Austin slapped the phone into Gavin’s palm and leaned back into his seat, disgusted.
“Austin.” Gavin’s voice was steely soft. He sounded so much like a father that Kari thought she really was going to find a hidden story with these two.
“Sorry, Gav.”
“It’s okay, bud. School’s important, and you’re destined for greatness. You can’t do that if you skip school.”
Austin’s little face lit up again, his deep brown eyes expressive. The sprinkling of freckles across his nose just made him cuter. He leaned forward. “I am going places! Did I tell you that, Kari?”
“No.” She hid a smile; this kid was definitely going in a book. “Where are you going?”
“Well. It’s going to be a hard choice. I might be in the NHL, or I might be in the NFL.
Luckily, I’m young enough I don’t have to decide, but I love hockey and football both with all my guts.
” He pointed to his abdomen. “The other option is I could be an extreme sports guy like my new brother, Trey. Ski all winter, do tricks on mountain bikes all summer.” He prattled on about sports and his family, including his brother, Stetson, who he thought would sign with the Georgia Patriots next year.
He also discussed his hero, Jag Parros, who was the center for the Boston Bruins and came from right here in Lonepeak Valley, Colorado.
Kari listened and encouraged him, but her gaze kept sliding to Gavin as they pulled into Vail and eventually parked at the ice arena.
He responded to Austin, but he seemed tense and uncomfortable.
Had her careless comments made him throw up a wall?
He probably didn’t appreciate being characterized as emotionally closed off and broody.
Dang. Had she driven this perfect hero away before she’d even gotten the chance to get to know him?
It was probably safer for everyone involved if she just stuck to writing the stories, not trying to make one happen in real life.
The disappointment that traced through her was surprising. She loved sharing the stories from the people in her head and had never really craved her own. Yet she’d never met a man as incredible as Gavin Strong. Too bad she’d messed it all up.